Detroit Symphony Orchestra aims to grow audience with movie performances
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The Detroit Symphony Orchestra rehearses yesterday for its performance of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Photo: Joe Guillen/Axios
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's movie series starts Wednesday with a showing of "The Nightmare Before Christmas," accompanied by a live performance of the animated classic's musical score.
Why it matters: The DSO has been integrating movies into its performances for 15 years. However, this season's "DSO at the Movies" lineup is longer than ever to attract broader audiences to the country's fourth-oldest orchestra.
What they're saying: "It's a way for you to bring your friends and families to something that's a little bit more familiar and experience anew what great orchestral music can do for you," DSO CEO & President Erik Rönmark said Tuesday at a behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming season.
- "Detroit has such a rich and vibrant arts scene with so many options to choose from, and we want people to choose the DSO."
State of play: "The Nightmare Before Christmas" — Wednesday at 7:30pm — is the first of six movies the DSO will perform this season.
- The rest of the lineup is new, except "Home Alone." It includes "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (Jan. 11 and 12) and 1989's "Batman" (July 25).
- "Home Alone" is sold out, but tickets are available for all the other shows.
The big picture: The DSO is part of the city's rich musical landscape, dating to its first concert in 1887 at the Detroit Opera House.
- Its current venue is Orchestra Hall on Woodward near Mack Avenue, where musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma and Aretha Franklin have performed.
- While the movie series has broad appeal, it represents only a fraction of the DSO's performances through July 2025, which feature classical, jazz, pop, and contemporary styles.
Zoom in: The orchestra's movie events present challenges for the musicians and technical staff. The music must be synced perfectly with the movie while ensuring the dialogue and other sounds remain audible.
- "Especially if it's a movie that you love, I think it's such a transcendent, additional experience," Jess Slais, DSO creative director of popular and special programming, told Axios Detroit.
💭 Joe's thought bubble: I've seen "Home Alone" too many times to count. But my experience seeing it at the DSO a couple of years ago was unique. Orchestra Hall is beautiful and it has great acoustics.